Uke It Up! 
 
Grades 9-12 
 
Nikki Shawn   
 Course Description 
 
This course focuses on playing the ukulele! We will also explore the local ukulele community 

and how music a ects our community. The ukulele is fun, easy to hold, and easy to play. Students will 

learn chords, strumming patterns, how to recognize and read ukulele tablature notation, and how and 

where to nd resources for the ukulele. Projects include covering songs on the ukulele, writing original 

songs on the ukulele, traveling to di erent local ukulele jams, and creating and running their own 

ukulele jam open to the public! Students will spend a lot of time jamming with their peers and develop 

leadership skills by leading songs for the class. This class engages with the community a lot in order to 

explore the di erent ways that ukulele jams are run and the purpose behind them. Come Uke it Up! 

   
 Rationale/Need for the Course 
 
Music is widely agreed by music therapists and music educators alike to play an important role 

in the lives of at-risk students (Darrow, Duerksen). This involves not only learning about music, but 

also participating actively in music that is relative to both the student and the community the student 

lives in. Students in this class will spend a lot of time teaching themselves in whatever way works best 

for them. The teacher will serve as a guide who is there for help when requested. Giving students 

agency in their learning increases motivation in students because their work becomes more meaningful 

to them (Green). Creating music that is meaningful to each student is important to building this 

motivation. Students at this school are healing, and music is a common factor that many students just 

need an opportunity to get more involved in. This could help improve motivation in other areas and 

help students heal (Ebie). Community music often focuses on the social aspect of “just having fun” in 

music, instead of developing outstanding performance skills, which builds community and makes the 

programs enjoyable for wide range of skill set (Giebelhausen, Kruse). This class focuses more on that 

community building and sparking an interest in participating actively in music that is prominent in the 

surrounding community. Students need a way to get involved in the larger community in order to 

build connections in a positive environment and to continue to make music in group settings and 

individual settings after their time at this school ends. This class would play an important role in 

inspiring lifelong music making skills. 

 
   
 Expected Impact on Students 
 
This course focuses on giving students agency in their music making by using a simple 

instrument in order to foster lifelong music making skills for the student. Students will be able to seek 

out ways to continue to learn about and get involved in music in their community as well as building a 

stronger community among themselves in the school. They will understand how to access and use 

resources about music available to them as an individual and in a group, and they will be able to be a 

leader in their community and pass on their learning to others. Students will learn to play the ukulele 

and sing at the same time, identify and play basic and complex chords and strumming patterns, tune 

the instrument, and write their own music using the ukulele. They will explore and understand the 

reasons that songs have been written and the personal meaning they have to students, how and why the 

ukulele is prominent in their community, and be able to identify why they enjoy learning, playing, and 

listening to speci c songs. Students will do a lot of self re ection on what they enjoy or don’t enjoy 

about ukulele, ukulele jams, and how they can learn on their own time. 

Standards addressed will be: 

 
● HG.3 The student will perform a varied repertoire of music, including 1. singing with increased vocal 
pro ciency; 2. recognizing and demonstrating proper instrumental technique; and 3. playing 
instrumental music representative of diverse styles, forms, and cultures. 
● HG.6 The student will explore historical and cultural aspects of music by 1. describing distinguishing 
characteristics of musical forms and styles from a variety of cultures; 2. identifying ways in which 
culture and technology in uence the development of music and musical styles; 3. identifying the 
relationship of music to the other ne arts and other elds of knowledge; 4. researching career options 
in music; and 5. explaining ethical standards as applied to the use of social media and copyrighted 
materials. 
● HG.7 The student will investigate the role of music in society by 1. comparing and contrasting the 
development of music in diverse cultures throughout history; 2. examining various opportunities to 
experience music in the community; and 3. describing the role of technology and social media in the 
development of music. 
● HG.8 The student will demonstrate concert etiquette at musical performances by 1. comparing and 
contrasting audience behavior appropriate for various musical settings; 2. exhibiting acceptable 
behavior as an active listener; and 3. showing respect for the contributions of others within performance 
settings. 
● HG.10 The student will evaluate and critique music by 1. examining and applying accepted criteria for 
 evaluating works of music; 2. comparing musical performances to similar exemplary models, using 
music terminology; And 3. examining and applying accepted criteria for critiquing musical 
performances of self and others. 
● HG.11 The student will investigate aesthetic concepts related to music by 1. explaining how the context 
of a musical work’s creation may in uence its meaning and value; 2. analyzing and justifying personal 
responses to works of music; 3. examining and applying aesthetic criteria for determining the quality of 
a musical work; and 4. explaining the value of music to the community and to society. 
● HGI.8 The student will demonstrate preparatory instrumental basics and playing procedures, 
including 1. identi cation of the parts of the instrument; 2. procedures for care of the instrument; 3. 
proper playing posture and instrument position; 4. proper left-hand and right-hand positions; and 5. 
tuning of the instrument, with and without an electronic tuner. 
● HGI.11 The student will read and interpret standard music notation and tablature while performing 
music of varying styles and levels of di culty. 
● HGI.13 The student will perform and improvise simple rhythmic and melodic examples in call-and 
response styles. 
● HGI.16 The student will sight-read music of varying styles and levels of di culty. 
● HGI.19 The student will investigate aesthetic concepts related to music by 1. proposing a de nition of 
music and supporting that de nition; 2. identifying reasons for preferences among works of music, 
using music terminology; 3. identifying ways in which music evokes sensory, emotional, and intellectual 
responses, including ways in which music can be persuasive; 4. describing aesthetic criteria used for 
determining the quality of a work of music or importance of a musical style; and 5. explaining the value 
of musical performance to the school community 
● HGII.6 The student will use music composition as a means of expression by 1. composing a 
four-measure rhythmic-melodic variation; and 2. notating the composition in standard notation, using 
contemporary technology. 
 
 
   
 Expected Community Impact 
 
There are a large number of ukulele jams around Philadelphia, including the South Philly Jam, 

the West Philly Uke Club, and the Northwest Philadelphia Ukulele Meetup, etc. The kinds of music 

people participate in at these jams and the way they are structured will shape the music and structure of 

the course. Students will be able to attend jam sessions and participate in community music, 

contributing to the local jam scene. The nal project will involve the students hosting a community 

jam session open to the public. In this way, the community will be directly involved in the course and 

be able to see the work that the students have been doing all semester. There are a lot of very negative 

stigmas around drug addiction that are damaging to the way people see and treat people su ering from 

addiction. When the community is able to interact with these students and see them as musicians, 

leaders, and explorers, it will counteract the stigmas in place and help the community see these students 

for what they are: kids. In the school itself, the course will give students in the school a common skill 

that they can utilize on their own time to make music with their peers, building a stronger school 

community. 

 
   
 Course Outline 
 
● Pick a Cover: Students will pick a song to cover on the ukulele as their introduction to 

learning the instrument. The cover must include at least the chords and melody played on 

ukulele and singing the melody. The students will present the songs for the class as their nal 

assessment for this project. 

● Your Own Uke: Students will take what they learned about common chord progressions and 

strumming patterns from the Pick a Cover project and write their own short song to be 

presented to the class. The song should consist of at least a verse and a chorus. 

● Let’s Jam: Students will go on a number of eld trips to the many local ukulele jams around 

the city and observe how the jams are run. They will turn in short re ections for each jam and 

summarize what they learned about the ukulele community in the city. 

● Let’s Jam: Our Turn: Students will create their own jam sessions to lead the community in 

after re ecting on their eld trip experiences. They will create all of the media and decide how 

they want to present information to the group. The jam session will be open to the entire 

community. 

 
   
 Project Example 
 

 
Context Statement: The students at this high school are currently working to recover from addiction. The school goes 
through a twelve step program with the students while still providing a formal education, complete with music, art, and 
other “electives.” Before this project, students will have learned the basics of the ukulele and covered a song. They will have 
gone on a number of eld trips to di erent ukulele jams to see how and where these events happen and what the 
communities surrounding ukulele jams are like. After seeing the di erent ways that ukulele jams are run, the students will 
have run a classroom jam where they each lead the song they covered at the beginning of the semester. This project will be 
the nal project of the semester, where students demonstrate all the skills they have learned: how to play the ukulele, how 
to learn songs on the instrument, and how to lead a song at a jam session. This project will foster the skills of working with 
others and being a leader in music making in the community. 
 

Stage 1 - Desired Results 

Standards:   Goals:  
   
HG.3 The student will  I can sing at least two songs con dently while playing the ukulele. (S) 
perform a varied   
repertoire of music,   
including 1. singing with   
increased vocal   
pro ciency; 2. recognizing   
and demonstrating proper   
instrumental technique;   
and 3. playing   
instrumental music   
representative of diverse   
styles, forms, and   
cultures.   
   
HG.6 The student will  I can analyze how di erent uses of media a ect the way songs are presented the community 
explore historical and  and discuss the pros and cons of each method. (T) 
cultural aspects of music   
by 1. describing   
distinguishing   
characteristics of musical   
forms and styles from a   
variety of cultures; 2.   
identifying ways in which   
culture and technology   
in uence the   
development of music   
and musical styles; 3.   
identifying the   
relationship of music to   
the other ne arts and   
other elds of knowledge;   
4. researching career   
options in music; and 5.   
explaining ethical   
standards as applied to the   
use of social media and   
copyrighted materials.   
   
HG.7 The student will  I can pick a song to play and discuss the personal reasons that I chose this song and the reasons 
investigate the role of  the song was written the way it was based on the context it was written in. (T) 
music in society by 1.   
comparing and   
contrasting the   
development of music in   
diverse cultures   
throughout history; 2.   
examining various   
opportunities to   
experience music in the   
community; and 3.   
describing the role of   
technology and social   
media in the development   
of music.   
   
HG.8 The student will  I can participate actively and respectfully in a jam session led by my peers. (S) 
demonstrate concert   
etiquette at musical   
performances by 1.   
comparing and   
contrasting audience   
behavior appropriate for   
various musical settings;   
2. exhibiting acceptable   
behavior as an active   
listener; and 3. showing   
respect for the   
contributions of others   
within performance   
settings.   
   
HG.10 The student will  I can make a checklist for what makes a good ukulele performance and re ect on my 
evaluate and critique  performances. (U) 
music by   
1. examining and applying   
accepted criteria for   
evaluating works of   
music;   
2. comparing musical   
performances to similar   
exemplary models, using   
music terminology;   
And 3. examining and   
applying accepted criteria   
for critiquing musical   
performances of self and   
others.   
   
HG.11 The student will  I can discuss the meaning and signi cance of community ukulele jam sessions to myself as well 
investigate aesthetic  as the larger community. (M) 
concepts related to music   
by 1. explaining how the   
context of a musical   
work’s creation may   
in uence its meaning and   
value; 2. analyzing and   
justifying personal   
responses to works of   
music; 3. examining and   
applying aesthetic criteria   
for determining the   
quality of a musical work;   
and 4. explaining the   
value of music to the   
community and to   
society.   
   
HGI.8 The student will  I can demonstrate the proper way to hold the ukulele and play the chords C, G, F, and Am 
demonstrate preparatory  after playing them four times. (S) 
instrumental basics and   
playing procedures,   
including 1. identi cation   
of the parts of the   
instrument; 2. procedures   
for care of the instrument;   
3. proper playing posture   
and instrument position;   
4. proper left-hand and   
right-hand positions; and   
5. tuning of the   
instrument, with and   
without an electronic   
tuner.   
   
HGI.11 The student will  I can identify ukulele tab notation and can identify the chords C, G, F, Am, D, A, and G7 
read and interpret  after playing them twice. (M) 
standard music notation   
and tablature while   
performing music of   
varying styles and levels of   
di culty.   
   
HGI.16 The student will  I can read ukulele tab notation when seeing a song for the rst time. (S) 
sight-read music of   
varying styles and levels of 
di culty. 
 
 
 

Generative (Essential) Questions:  

 
How are jam sessions created? 
How are jam sessions facilitated? Who facilitates them? 
How can jam sessions get people involved in music? 
In what ways do jam sessions a ect participants after the event is over? 
 

Stage 2 - Evidence 

 
Students will turn in frequent re ections on the work they have done or the work the have left to do. This will help the 
teacher assess how the student perceives their progress and their con dence level at various stages of the project. 
 
Checklist for media: 
The media is created completely by the students __ 
The media is easy to read __ 
The media can be viewed from far away if necessary __ 
The media can be run by one person __ 
The media is clear in its intentions __ 
 
For the nal: Students will lead a community jam session open to the public. 
 
 

Stage 3 – Learning Plan 

Day One: 
● The teacher will lead a jam session to start class with a couple of songs that the students have played repeatedly 
throughout the semester and know well. The jam session will last for ten minutes (enough time to play each song 
 and transition). 
● The teacher will start a discussion by asking how the students started their process of learning these songs. 
Students will re ect on what worked and what didn’t for ve minutes. The teacher will comment on how there are 
many di erent answers to those questions since each student directed their learning di erently. 
● The students will discuss their experiences going to di erent jam sessions around the city. They will re ect on what 
worked in each place and what didn’t, and what they liked and disliked about each session for ten minutes. It is 
important that each session is re ected on by itself. 
● The teacher will present the project: The students are going to create their own jam session, to be held at the 
school. The event will be open to the community and will be advertised around the city. They will decide how to 
structure the session, including how to teach the chords and strumming, what chords and strumming to teach, 
what songs to play, and how to get the whole group to play together. The teacher will provide a checklist of what 
they will be looking for. Each student will lead two songs, one of which will be the song they chose to cover at the 
start of the semester. The students will take a vote on whether or not they’d like the groups to be decided by them 
or the teacher. 
● Groups will be made. All groups will be made up of four people. If there aren’t enough people to make even 
groups of four, one group of three or ve will be accepted. This process should take about ve minutes. 
● In these groups, students will again discuss their experiences attending local ukulele jam sessions. They will make a 
collaborative list about what they liked about certain events, and another list about what they didn’t like. The 
teacher will oat from group to group, ensuring that the groups are working together and that all voices are being 
heard. 
● After ten minutes, groups will switch to making collaborative lists about how they learned best when it came to 
learning the ukulele at the beginning of the semester. The teacher will continue to oat, moderate, and jumpstart 
discussions when needed by re ecting on the progress students made throughout the semester. The groups will 
work like this for another ten minutes. 
● As students leave the class, they will turn in their lists to the teacher as an assessment of what they will be drawing 
on as they create their own jam sessions. 
 
Day Two: 
● The teacher will start class by leading a short jam session of a song that the students have never played in class. The 
song should use at least one unfamiliar chord. This should take about ve minutes. 
● The teacher will ask the students how they were able to play the song even though they had never seen one of the 
chords before. This discussion should center on how students individually learn how to handle new chords on the 
ukulele. The discussion will go on for ve minutes. 
● Students will get into their Jam Session groups and their collaborative lists will be passed back. The teacher will ask 
each group to start thinking about how they would show someone who is completely unfamiliar with the ukulele 
how to play chords. Students should re ect on their experience with the unfamiliar chord and their lists about 
what worked for them and what didn’t when they were learning how to play. Groups should be writing down 
ideas as they discuss. This discussion will go on for ten minutes. 
● The teacher will ask students to collaboratively decide how they would like to present the information to the 
group they work with at the jam session. Students will continue discussing, re ecting on their collaborative lists 
about what they liked and didn’t like about each jam session. These discussions and re ections are meant to have 
students continue to draw on their experiences as they create their own. 
● Twenty minutes into the discussion, the teacher will stop and ask students to begin thinking about what kind of 
media or materials they might need or want to use for their jam sessions. They will assign that students will bring 
in some form of media or materials for the teacher to look at next class. 
● The students will work in their groups for the remainder of class. At the end, they will turn one piece of paper per 
group outlining how they want to present information at their jam session as a formative assessment. The teacher 
 will comment on these before the next class. 
 
Day Three: 
● The teacher will start class by leading a short jam session of two songs; one that the students have played before in 
class and one that they have not. For the song that they are familiar with, the teacher will yell out the chord 
changes as they happen. For the song that they are unfamiliar with, the teacher will provide each student with a 
sheet that shows all the words and when the chords need to change. The jam session will take about ten minutes. 
● The teacher will do a “check-in” as a re ection and formative assessment by having students close their eyes and 
hold up their ngers. One nger means that the student is completely confused about the project and doesn’t feel 
like any progress has been made, ve ngers means that the student understands the assignment fully and feels like 
the group is on track. The teacher will use this assessment as a way to decide where to go rst. 
● The students will get into their groups and continue working on creating their media. Their ideas about how to 
present information will be passed back with guiding questions about their work attached. The teacher will oat 
around, going rst to groups where most of the students said they were confused in their re ection. For groups 
that aren’t very far along, the teacher will ask guiding questions to jumpstart thinking and get work owing. If any 
groups are done, the teacher will suggest that the students run through a couple songs with their media to see how 
well it works and what the potential issues or pitfalls in action might be. If students seem completely nished and 
the media has been tested, the teacher will present the next step of the project to them. 
● Ten minutes before the end of class, the teacher will stop and ask for another check-in. This is a formative 
assessment of their re ection on their growth and progress throughout the class period. The teacher will present 
the next step of the project: students will choose one more song that they will lead at their jam sessions. Students 
should have this song selected and be able to play it by next class. The teacher will print out tabs for each song and 
hand them out. The next class will begin with a jam session of all the new songs, with each student leading their 
selected song. If there is time left, students will continue to work on their media. 
 
Day Four: 
● Students will enter the classroom and pick up a packet of ukulele tabs that the students have prepared for today. 
The teacher will start by leading a song that they also learned in the time between this class and the last class, and 
the students will each lead their songs. The teacher will be able to observe the work they’ve done preparing their 
song and assess their ease in leading the group. This is a chance for the teacher to observe each student individually 
as a leader and musician. The jam session should take no more than half an hour. 
● Students will break o into their groups and begin putting their newly prepared songs into the format that their 
group has chosen to present the information at their jam session. The teacher will continue to oat around and 
address questions or concerns as needed. 
● Five minutes before class ends, the teacher will stop and ask the students to discuss in their groups what needs to 
be done outside of class in order to complete this project in the next two class periods. They should assign work for 
each member of the group and hand in the assignments they’ve given themselves to the teacher before they leave. 
This will serve as an assessment of how the students are re ecting on the work they’ve done and the work they have 
to do. 
 
Day Five: 
● Class will begin with a one song jam session led by the teacher. The song will be a fan favorite that the students 
have expressed that they really enjoy playing and singing throughout the semester. 
● This class period will be a whole work day focused on nalizing as much as the students are able to. The teacher 
will check in with each group’s progress. Since the teacher has been consistently checking in and monitoring 
progress with each group and student, they should have a good idea of what the students need in order to 
complete the project on time. If students are spending too much time on portions of the project that don’t need as 
 much work as other portions, the teacher will ask the students to decide what the priority of each task is in ranked 
order, or ask them how they could split up the work to get more done. 
● Five minutes before the end of class, the teacher will ask the students to write down what they still have left to do 
and create a brief plan for how they will complete their work by the end of the next class period. 
 
Day Six: 
● Class will begin with a one song jam session led by the teacher. The song will be a fan favorite that the students 
have expressed really enjoying playing and singing throughout the semester. 
● This class period will be used to nish up any work left for this project. The students should follow their plan and 
have completed the project materials by the end of class. 
● If all students complete their work and turn it in to the teacher before the end of class, the students will be able to 
volunteer to lead a song in a class jam session. If they want to use their work to lead the jam session, they may. 

Final Assessment  

Explain what will be assessed (which should be drawn from your evidences). Also, demonstrate how these bits of evidences will be 
assessed. Consider a fully-wound rubrics (see below), checklists for some things, reflective assessments, conversational assessments 
with questions, etc. You will need multiple assessment mechanisms to determine how students have grown in relation to the 
goals.  
 
Students will complete a self-re ection of their individual performance as a leader and musician as well as a self-re ection of 
their group performance. 
 
The students will discuss how well their group worked together through conversation with the following questions 
● What were your biggest challenges as a group for this project? 
● How did you overcome those challenges? 
● What did you do that worked really well? 
● If you did the project again, what would you do di erently? 
 
Checklist: 
The students have each prepared two songs to lead at the jam session __ 
The students have created original media __ 
The media is clear and easy to follow __ 
The students can demonstrate the chords used in their songs __ 

Goal/Quality  No Evidence  Minimal Evidence  Meet  Exceeds Expectations 

Expectations 

1 Media  The students  The students have  The students have  The students have 
have not created  created original  created original  created original media 
media or the  media that is di cult  media that is clear  that is intuitive and easy 
to follow during a  and easy to follow  to follow during a jam 
students have 
jam session  during a jam session  session 
not created their 
own media 
 

2 Content  The student has  The student has  The student has two  The student has two 
prepared two songs  songs well prepared  songs exceptionally 
 not prepared  for the jam session  for the jam session  prepared for the jam 
two songs for the  session 
jam session 
 

3 Leading  The student  The student appears  The student appears  The student appears 
does not lead at  uncomfortable  comfortable leading  con dent and natural 
the jam session  leading at the jam  at the jam session  leading at the jam session 
session 
 
 
   
 Materials & Budget 
 

Proposed Budget 

Item Name   Use   Cost  Quantity  Overall Cost 

(linked to provider)  (How will this be used by students/teacher?)  (per unit) 

MU40 Soprano  Students and teacher will both play the ukulele the whole  $29.99  35  $1049.65 
Ukulele Natural  semester, both in and out of class 

School Bus  Students and teacher will ride the school bus to the eld  $425  3  $1275.00 
trips. There will be three trips 

Total Cost  $2294.65 

 
 
   
 References 
 
Darrow A., Duerksen G. Music Educators Journal, Vol. 78, No. 3, Special Focus: Music and the At-Risk  

Student (Nov., 1991), pp. 46-49 

Ebie D. Contributions to Music Education Vol. 25, No. 2 Can Music Help? A Qualitative  

Investigation of Two Music Educators' Views on the Role of Music in the Lives of At-Risk  

Students (1998), pp. 63-78 (16 pages) 

Giebelhausen, R., & Kruse, A. J. (2018). “A smile on everybody’s face”: A multiple case study of  

community ukulele groups. International Journal of Music Education, 36(3), 347–365.  

Green, Lucy. (2008). Music, Informal Learning and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy.